Jeddah, July (پاکستان پوائنٹ نیوز 21 يوليو 2026ء) Published in Nature Biotechnology, the study introduces a new genome engineering approach that the research team successfully demonstrated in tobacco and rice, opening new possibilities for research in agricultural biotechnology, synthetic biology, and plant-based biomanufacturing.
Despite advances in gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR, which enable precise, targeted changes to DNA, the insertion of new, large genes into specific locations within the genome remains a major technical challenge, particularly when developing traits that require multiple genes to work together.
Professor of Bioengineering at KAUST and senior author of the study Magdy Mahfouz said the future of plant biotechnology depends on the ability to equip plants with entirely new genetic instructions. He noted that the newly developed method provides researchers with a tool for building more sophisticated biological traits, which could eventually enable plants to serve as platforms for producing therapeutics and other high-value biologics.
Unlike many existing methods, the new approach does not require creating breaks in DNA before introducing new genetic material, giving researchers greater precision and control over the introduction of new traits. The experiments demonstrated that the method can reliably insert full-length genes and other large genetic elements into targeted locations within the genome, marking the first successful proof of concept for this approach in plants.
Although the work remains at the research stage, the findings expand the range of tools available to scientists for developing plants that combine multiple beneficial traits or perform new biological functions, supporting future applications in agriculture and biomanufacturing.
